TRIALS: No Again on the Conspiracy Law

After ten long weeks, 64 witnesses and many
thousands of pages of testimony, the pivotal question in the trial of
the Harrisburg Seven remained unanswered: When does chitchat become
conspiracy?

From the beginning, the defense contended that the letters between the
Rev. Philip Berrigan and Sister Elizabeth McAlister, some of which
alluded to the kidnaping of Henry Kissinger and the blowing up of
heating tunnels in Washington, D.C., were merely loose talk.
"Conspiracy," said Assistant Defense Attorney Leonard Boudin in his
closing argument, "is when a group of people get together and make a
commitmenta firm commitmentto action." Countered Chief...